Power supply is an important element for normal and stable operation of personal computers (PCs) and peripheral devices thereof. The conventional PC power supply has two types of specifications, i.e. AT and ATX, to support different specifications of motherboards (depending on CPU specifications). Whatever the specification of the power supply, output of the power supply usually includes a plug containing a plurality of power output cords to be coupled with a power socket on a system end. Then electric power is delivered to the system end (for the motherboard and/or related peripheral devices).
As the PC generally is coupled with a plurality of peripheral devices, such as an optical disk burner (CD-R/RW). hard disks and various interfaces of selected functions, a suitable power supply is needed to support normal operations of these peripheral devices. When more peripheral devices are added, the power supply generally is upgraded to a larger capacity to avoid shortage of power supply. The power supply of a greater capacity generally has a greater dimension. Hence a desirable power supply not only has to support stable operation, also has to meet the requirements of product upgrade or repairs and maintenance. Hence to alter the size of the power supply without changing the dimension of the computer and make assembly and disassembly of the power supply easier are important issues in the design of power supply.
When the conventional power supply is removed for upgrade or repairs and maintenance, a lot of electric connectors have to be unplugged, such as power connectors on the motherboard, hard disks, optical disk drive and floppy disk drive. The operation is tedious and time-consuming. The connectors or power cords are easily damaged if a slight inadvertence occurs. Although some conventional power supplies adopt a removable design for the power output cords, namely the power output cord has an electric connector to be coupled with an electric output port of the power supply, a lot of disassembly and assembly operations for the power output cords are still required.
To remedy the aforesaid problems, a removable power supply module has been developed. For instance, R.O.C. Patent Publication No. 302088 entitled “Removable power supply module for industrial computers” discloses a loading and unloading mechanism which has a power switch and a power socket located independently outside the computer. But it still has to be coupled with the computer through a connector and a power cord.
R.O.C. Patent Publication No. 479925 entitled “Improved structure of the connection backboard of power supply” discloses a power supply which has a socket and legs that are interconnected. However, it does not explain how to fully load the power supply of different sizes into a computer.